


Show me your gorgeous faults

by almightydurins



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Eventual Brightwell, Gen, His Dark Materials Inspired, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22833292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almightydurins/pseuds/almightydurins
Summary: The daemon au that has been sitting in my head since the pilot episode.The first time Dani meets them, Asterin has the same luminous blue eyes as Malcolm and she never speaks.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

The first time Dani meets them, Asterin has the same luminous blue eyes as Malcolm and she never speaks.  
She pads silently beside him, the cream fur of her paws somehow immaculate even after the grime of New York streets and remains silent the entire time they approach the crime scene, even as Malcolm bends to scoop her tiny body into his arms as they enter the elevator. Dani is glad for it, the combined bulk of Kal and Cindra means there is barely room for them all in the enclosed space, and Kal doesn’t like to be cramped near other daemons. He doesn’t like to be stared at either, unusual though his form is, but neither Asterin nor Malcolm spare him a second glance once they grab the ME’s report out of her hands. ‘Acquired taste’ says Gil as he introduces them, Cindra’s worried eyes tracking Asterin as she leaps gracefully to the floor and out of the elevator. JT moves to greet them immediately, Leya sticking by his heels as he gives them a rundown on their victim. She growls in warning at Malcolm’s comment, hackles raising at the perceived insult from a stranger, but neither Bright nor his daemon flinch. Instead they push past, more eager it seems to get acquainted with the body in the next room than the rest of the team they are supposed to be helping. Bright joins Dani in hovering over the body, but Asterin makes no attempt to join Kal at his position near the window like a normal daemon would, choosing to linger near the entrance instead.

“So, you’re a profiler?” Dani asks as he scans the body, curious despite herself. It’s not like Gil to bring someone new onto the team, much less someone who has Cindra hovering as nervously as she is by Asterin. Bright barely has time to hum back an affirmative before JT interrupts again. She winces as he once again finds himself at the end of an acerbic comment from the profiler, prompting another growl from Leya. She doesn’t bother watching the cat daemon in the corner for a reaction this time, knowing that Kal hasn’t taken his eyes off her since they exited the elevator. He’ll fill her in later, no doubt seeing more than she ever would anyway. Cindra huffs in Leya’s direction, and she backs off immediately.

“Let them work.” Gil says, tone leaving no room for argument even if they were tempted to try. Dani wonders though… that Bright is doing something is obvious, with his seemingly random aborted hand gestures and furrowed brow (although seeing the crime scene from the killer’s perspective seems a little much for Dani’s tastes). His daemon is another matter, sat still as a statue next to Cindra and barely even blinking. Why had Gil said _they_? Dani feels as though she’s missing something about the pair still, but chooses to focus on the one actually willing to speak for now.

“You think like the killer?” She can’t quite keep the distaste from her voice, but Bright doesn’t seem that bothered.

“It’s a gift!” He replies, sarcasm colouring his tone as he rises smoothly and turns back to Gil and JT ready to impart his findings. He is quick at first, limbs still flailing around expressively as he describes what happened in this room a few hours ago, until he approaches the body again.

“Inducing paralysis is a thousand times harder than knocking someone out.” He pauses, glances over to his daemon so briefly it’s barely noticeable. “It requires practice…equipment…” Bright trails off again as Gil creeps closer slowly, Cindra shuffling toward Asterin as subtly as her bulk allows. “…Medical skills.” He finishes quietly, still staring at the body but looking vaguely uncomfortable now.

“What is it?” Gil presses him, and Cindra is so close to Asterin now Dani can’t even see her anymore, her tiny form completely obscured.

”I’ve seen this before. There’ll be an injection point into her iliac crest and a third near her heart,” Bright mutters, staring at the body like if he looks hard enough she might spring back into life. JT asks the question that must be on all their minds, because seriously how does this guy know this kinda stuff right off the bat. She thinks she should know the name he utters, looking vaguely like he might puke at the thought of this old killer, but she cannot quite recall the details she needs to place the crimes. She is distracted a heartbeat later as Kal flicks his tail wildly in agitation, still staring at the corner where Cindra has blocked Asterin from view. Dani peers over at them, catching a strange flicker of gold behind the bulky canine that she can’t quite figure out. Bright stands as she stares, blocking her view in a way that she can’t be sure but might be deliberate. Kal will fill her in later she thinks, so she focuses on the man in front of her once again.   
“You know all about this Surgeon guy?” She asks, catching those disconcerting eyes for barely a second before he’s turning away from her, back toward Gil.   
“Almost like he’s family,” is the last thing Bright says as he slams the report back into Gil’s chest, barely pausing to once more scoop up his daemon as he walks away from the scene.   
  
  


They head back to the precinct pretty quickly after that, JT stopping to call Tally and let her know that he’ll be working overtime until this thing is solved. Gil is still gone as well, last seen heading to the roof after his new (old?) profiler. Kal seems grateful, sliding closer than usual to Dani as she sits at her desk. She raises her brow at him, ready for the debrief no doubt coming her way.   
“There’s something wrong with her.” he states flatly, not bothering to ease into the discussion when it’s just the two of them. He barely gives her time to blink before he’s continuing. “She didn’t move a single inch that whole time. Just sat and stared at _him_ , she didn’t even blink I don’t think.” And yeah ok, that’s pretty weird but really not enough to be freaking out Kal this much. Dani knows him, knows _them_ , and they don’t get bothered by shit like this, not anymore. So she waits him out, stares into those gold eyes that she knows better than anything else in this world and curls her fingers into his mane, but says absolutely nothing. Finally, after what feels like forever,

”I think at the end - ” Kal breaks off again, the tip of his tail twitching furiously as he breaks her gaze, looking as though his courage might fail him and ok yeah now Dani is freaking a little bit. He gathers himself quickly though, swinging his huge head back round to lock eyes with her again. She still isn’t ready for what comes next.   
“I think she shifted”.   
  



	2. Chapter 2

Dani blinks at Kal, disbelief coursing through her.

"She didn't," Dani replies immediately, "She can't!" because really, she seriously _can't_. Everyone knows, daemons settle when you're still a child and weird though he may be, Malcolm Bright is definitely not a child. There are always rumours of course, about unusual settlings. People talk about their aunt's friend's cousin who didn't settle until they were 23, or more commonly children who settled absurdly early - forms and personality already decided by the time they hit six years old. But Bright must be in his thirties at least, there's _no way_...

"I know what I saw!" Kal says stubbornly, refusing to back down.

"Cindra was in the way, there's no way you saw that!" Dani scoffs, refusing to believe otherwise. "It's just this stupid case, getting in our heads. God, we've barely slept this last week, your eyes are probably playing tricks on you." Kal looks like he's going to argue again, so Dani steers the subject away quickly. "Seriously, let's go home and sleep. Gil wants us at Edrisa's early tomorrow."

Silence falls between them then, and continues well into their journey home. Dani isn't naive enough to think that means it's forgotten however, she knows Kal too well for that. And now she's thinking about it as well, her brain parsing through all the tall tales she's ever heard, trying to remember the few classes they had at school about daemonology. Kal sulks in silence as they climb into bed, Dani curling her body around him automatically, fingers combing through the knots in his mane. She drifts off to sleep quickly, his mumbled declaration the last thing she hears before succumbing completely.

"I know what I saw."

Bright and Asterin are nowhere to be seen at the precinct the next morning, but Gil doesn't seem worried or surprised. Dani wonders if Bright had been so spooked by this old killer that he'd backed off the case completely, but something inside her thinks it unlikely. Still, they're still not there when the team arrives at the MEs office and Gil doesn't seem interested in waiting either, beginning before they'd even finished walking in the door.

"Edrisa, thanks for hustling on this. I know these homicides were - "  
  


"Amazing!" Roka squeals from his perch at the end of the room. "I mean we've only ever read about The Surgeon's methods in textbooks. To see them carried out in person is a real thrill!" Kal shifts awkwardly next to Dani, exchanging a look with Leya at the same time. Edrisa's daemon can be a little much, especially this early in the morning and with this many bodies on the tables in front of them. Most daemons prefer to interact with each other, rarely speaking to any human other than their own, but Roka has never been one to hold himself back. However when Cindra coughs slightly, thankfully Edrisa takes the hint and continues with their findings.

"So, three victims. Based on the tox report, each one was injected with a different cocktail of paralytic agents that shut their bodies down one system at a time." Edrisa explains quickly, sounding almost as fascinated as her daemon. She only pauses as she approaches the body closest to them, expression turning grave. "It must have been agony..."

"It was." The rest of the team turn immediately to face the door where Bright has just appeared, Dani pausing only to glare pointedly at Kal before joining them. Malcolm hovers awkwardly by the door, a small smile on his face. He walks forward, pulling on a pair of latex gloves as he announces that he has a preliminary profile. Dani barely registers the short conversation about how much sleep (or lack thereof) Bright has had, she is so focused on Asterin, who trails behind him. She is still staring at her when Leya leans closer to Kal and whispers "He's the killer, right? We agree?" which is probably the only reason she catches the slightest flick of a tail from the cat daemon, the only sign that she heard the comment. Bright continues examining the bodies, complimenting Edrisa on her stitching as he goes and flashing her a smile.

"You're like Picasso with formaldehyde." He tells her, causing Edrisa to blush and stammer out her thanks. Then there's a _swoosh_ and a blur of movement which distracts Dani long enough to break her stare away from Asterin, who has been studiously ignoring them all. Roka has glided down from his perch, attaching himself to Edrisa's shoulder and staring at Malcolm with his huge dark eyes. 

"And you're... very slender," Roka babbles, still focused entirely on Malcolm - who seems to take the somewhat unusual approach in his stride.

"Yeah, well, most food makes me sick..." he offers distractedly, still fixated on the body in front of him.  
  


"What's happening?" JT turns and mutters to her, which yeah, Dani kinda agrees there. This has taken a turn for the even weirder than normal, but thankfully Gil is on hand to steer things back on track. Bright starts to deliver the profile, striding across the room before turning and waving his hands around once more. Dani is back to staring at Asterin, cataloging every detail that she can make out from this distance. The cream fur is the same as before, blending seamlessly into dark grey around her face and tail. Her legs are grey as well, before turning suddenly back to white at her paws. She's still the exact same size (tiny) as before, Dani is sure of it, she can't possibly have changed, Kal is _wrong_. Dani's pretty sure the eyes haven't changed either, although she can't be sure in this light while Asterin is looking away - until suddenly she isn't looking away, she's staring right back at her, eye's narrowed in a glare. Dani startles, tearing her gaze away and catching the latest bit of the profile.

"He's a high-functioning psychopath." Malcolm is saying, and suddenly Dani finds herself speaking as well.

"Hmm. Sounds like my ex," she blurts out, ignoring the way Gil and JT turn to her because Asterin is _still staring_. "Definitely Khalil," she adds after Bright continues, only falling silent again when Kal's tail whips against the back of her calf in annoyance. 'What the hell are you doing??' says the movement, which isn't really fair because this is quite literally all his fault. Kal was the one making shit up about the new daemon, which is what is causing Dani to lose the ability to focus on the job like a normal person. She tries to convey this in a glare to the back of Kal's head, but he's back to concentrating on the profiler and ignores her completely. After another second of (pointless) glaring, she too refocuses on Bright, who has picked up the arm of one of their victims.

"All three victims had the same bruising on their wrists. This does not match The Surgeon's methods."

"Maybe our guy handcuffed Vanessa?" JT suggests, but Bright shakes his head in disagreement immediately.

"These aren't from metal." he states confidently, eyes still travelling along the length of their victims arm while he continues "My guess is quarter-inch-thick Japanese-style bondage rope. Simple but effective."

"Exactly!" Chirps Roka, still clinging to Edrisa's shoulder, drawing Malcolm's attention back to them and causing another blush from the doctor.

"I mean, we agree about the rope and its effectiveness, and... and everything else that you said..." the daemon trails off near the end, the weight of Malcolm's intense gaze clearly a little too much for him to deal with. Thankfully for him, Edrisa takes over pretty quickly, gifting the rest of the team with another snippet of information she had ascertained in her examinations. 

"Also, these bruises don't match the time of death. They're from earlier, three days at least." Edrisa states matter-of-factly, before summarizing her findings. "So, the women were all restrained, but not on the night that they were murdered."

"They were into a Fifty Shades type thing, I got you." JT nods at Edrisa, making the briefest moment of eye contact with Roka afterwards. The daemon preens under the brief attention nonetheless, so proud of the help they can give.

"So, we have three victims, all exhibiting bruising consistent with BDSM," Malcom continues, looking as though he's in the process of a breakthrough. Which is obviously very interesting, but Dani is distracted _again_ because Kal has gone completely and utterly still by her side, and she's not even sure he's still breathing. She hates it when he does this, when he exposes to the others around them quite how different they truly are - wild predators in a civilized society. She risks a glance down, and finds him staring at Asterin, eyes fixed on her as if she is his next meal. Most daemons would be quivering in fear at this look, prey caught in the sights of a dangerous beast, but Dani is astounded to find the cat is merely staring straight back at him as though he is an interesting puzzle for her to work out. The tension rises as the two daemons continue to lock eyes, and Dani wonders if anyone else is even aware. Although now she sees that Leya and Cindra have clearly noticed as well, both shifting slightly into positions they can easily spring into action from, the human conversation above them is continuing as though nothing is happening below. 

"A professional dominant." Malcolm proposes to Gil, who is quick to catch onto the idea.

"He was seeing all three of them." Gil is smiling now, finally a lead to follow.

"Right." Malcolm looks like he might continue on this thread but Dani needs to get out of here, get Kal out of here now, and this development has given her an idea.

"If he's a pro, that means that they paid him. I'll track down the bank records." She offers quickly, turning to go quickly when Gil nods at her. She makes it all the way to the door before she feels the faintest hint of a stretch on the bond, and realises Kal hasn't moved a muscle. She turns back and waits for another second before hissing his name across the room, attempting to summon him back to her side. Thankfully Gil, JT, and Edrisa are pretending not to notice the minor disagreement she's having with her daemon, but sadly Bright seems to have finally realised that something untoward is going. His luminous gaze is flitting between Asterin and Kal, brow faintly creased although Dani can't figure out if it's distress or confusion causing the wrinkle. Still, he must make some kind of sound that she can't hear, because suddenly Asterin is standing and stretching nonchalantly right in front of Kal. She stops a few scant inches away from his enormous paws, which might be bigger that her entire body, keeping eye contact for a few more seconds before turning her back on him completely. She saunters slowly back to where Bright is standing, and keeps her back to the rest of them. Malcolm begins to lean down slightly as though to talk to her, but Dani has already had enough of this absolute shitshow.   
  


"Kal!" She hisses again, and thank god this time he turns and walks away with her, bumping his nose into her hip as he passes by. She waits until they are out of earshot of the others before she rounds on him.

"What the fuck was that?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta-ed! The plan for this fic is to go through the pilot episode from Dani's perspective, and then I'll probably continue with the au in other bits and pieces!  
> I have so many headcanons for this fic, so holla at me on [tumblr ](https://slytherinsnakesssss.tumblr.com/)if you have any questions or you just generally want to talk about Prodigal Son!  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> Currently unbeta-ed and mostly written on my phone, so apologies for any mistakes!  
> Extra points to anyone who can guess the shape everyone’s Daemons are in!


End file.
